Snowy Competition
by NarcissaaMalfoy
Summary: Winter hits Storybrooke suddenly overnight and Regina finds herself engaged in a snowy warfare with Emma and Henry. Oneshot, although adding additional chapters seems likely which will eventually incorporate SwanQueen.


**Just a little light piece from Regina's point-of-view. **

**Enjoy xo**

* * *

Snow? Really? Of all the things she could control in Storybrooke Regina wished right now that the weather was one of them. Winter had sprung itself on them practically overnight, bringing with it two feet of snow and bitterly cold winds. Frustration made logical thought processes seem almost impossible and to her it seemed that even in Storybrooke where she reigned victorious it felt as though she were doomed to remember Snow White's betrayal forever. In her mind, the snow was a clear reminder that perhaps she hadn't won after all, at least not now Emma Swan had chosen to make roots in town. The curse was weakening and there was nothing she could do about it without magic.

"I'm going out to play!" Henry yelled, charging down the stairs, toboggan in hand.

"Put on a hat." Replied Regina. "And do your coat up! I will not have you missing school because you're sick." Regina resented snow days because not only did they result in the neighbourhood children running riot, they also meant she would have to practically tunnel her way to work or cancel her entire day, and without fail Henry caught a cold and forced her to take more time off of work after the snow had melted to look after him. Of course she didn't mind a bit because it meant spending more time with her son which seemed infrequent now he had opted to spend so much of it with Miss Swan, but it was inconvenient and being cooped up in the house made her feel trapped sometimes.

"Come and find me at the office and we'll have lunch together; 12 o'clock, don't be late!" She yelled after him just as the front door slammed shut. Today was going to be unbearable and Regina wanted nothing more than to return to bed and hibernate for the rest of the season. Perhaps if she slept long enough when she woke up everything would have return to normal and the Swan problem would be resolved, or maybe she was having a nightmare and needed desperately for someone to wake her up. _Stop thinking like this, Regina, it's not helping the situation_, she thought bitterly.

The thought of battling through the thick blanket was nowhere near as bad as actually doing it. Regina sighed as the snow filled her wellies and dampened the hem of her favourite grey dress. _Why did I think getting rid of magic for everyone would be a good idea… Keeping magic for myself would have been far more convenient… But Rumpelstiltskin would have found a way to steal it from me…_. Regina could find nothing to comfort her or soothe her rage as the icy dampness penetrated her clothes and forced her to shiver.

A snowball flying dangerously close to her head brought her back to reality and she immediately whipped around to find the culprit.

"Sorry, Madame Mayor, I didn't realise I could throw that far!" Miss Swan: The cause of most of her latest stress and anger. Oh yes, magic would be much appreciated right now. Not trusting herself to stride confidently across the snow, Regina ripped off a glove and plunged a hand in her bag to retrieve her phone, staring intently at Emma as she waited for the blonde to answer.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She snapped as soon as Emma picked up. Without giving her a chance to explain herself, Regina continued: "You should be at the station, Sheriff Swan, not tossing around snowballs with _my_ son. _Do your job_." She hung up, dropped her phone in her bag, and continued walking, eyes focused on the mayor's office two blocks away. The snow was making her walk less confidently and much of her usual dominance was missing, frustrating her further. Thankfully everybody else was finding it difficult to move around today and she found some comfort in the realisation that she was much steadier on her feet than most.

Before she could even think about rummaging for her keys in to avoid standing under the icicles at the front door, a second snowball hit her squarely in the back of the head; Regina didn't need to look this time to guess who had thrown it. She stopped and turned around slowly, fury evident on her face, and strode as best she could off of the snow-covered pavement and through the snowy field to where Emma and Henry stood clutching each other in a mixture of fear and amusement; a simple phone call would not be enough this time, she wanted revenge. Around them the others enjoying the snow had frozen and turned their attentions to what was undoubtedly going to be an explosion on the mayor's part. _My lack of balance clearly makes no difference to my reputation_, she smirked.

"Sheriff Swan, do I need to tell you twice or are you going to grow up and go to work?" Regina forced herself to sound as unforgiving as possible, nonchalantly pulling her glove back on and sliding her clutch bag into her pocket. Emma appeared not to have noticed, focusing all of her energy into not laughing and covering Henry's mouth to prevent him giggling too (Regina noticed he was visibly shaking with the effort of not laughing, which fuelled her forced anger and made it much more believable. She mentally thanked him). "I suggest you run along, Sheriff." When Emma didn't move, the mayor's eyes flashed wickedly. "I meant that literally, Miss Swan."

Regina's final statement set into motion a whole host of chaotic events: Emma had looked up from Henry a little too late to realise what was happening, turned to run away, and fell completely face-first into the snow; Regina had bent down with impossible speed, packed together some snow into a rough ball, and hurled it as hard as she could at Emma, hitting the back of her head; Henry had seen the ambush coming and sent a snowball flying toward Regina's head which Emma had unfortunately intercepted with her face instead in her attempt to run away before she fell.

Covered in snow from head to toe, Emma dragged herself to her feet and muttered an apology to Regina. Keeping her head low, Emma reached out to shake hands and call a truce. Glad to have gotten revenge, thoughts of a warm office and a steaming cup of coffee lead Regina to instantly trust Emma and accept her handshake, but she instantly regretted that decision. As soon as they grasped hands, Emma thrust her other hand in the mayor's face, wiping snow across it that she had obviously gathered stealthily as she got up. Using the time it took Regina to recover and wipe the snow out of her eyes, Emma and Henry ran as fast as they could, carving deep trenches as they forced their legs to move as swiftly as possible, shouting ideas at each other for a second attack.

_Picking a fight with me is foolish_, she thought to herself, wasting no time and throwing herself as fast as she could through the tracks Emma had carved already. She gathered snow as she ran, easily catching up with them as she had the advantage of the clear path while they still had to fight through the fresh snow. Regina threw a snowball at Henry this time knowing how much it would provoke Emma and slow them down enough for an ambush, mentally chastising herself for actually have fun and being somewhat hypocritical for missing work to sink to Emma's level and retaliate.

The snowball splatted spectacularly on his back but forced him unexpectedly to fall forwards and land sprawled in the snow, disappearing completely from view as he fell deeper through the fresh flurry. Regina sped up, worried she had hurt her son. Had she really thrown it that hard? He was only little, perhaps it was much more forceful than it felt. Guilt racked her as she reached him and crouched down to help. Emma had continued on still shouting ideas as she went, unaware of what had happened until it was too late. She came to a halt and reached Henry after Regina.

Suddenly Regina was aware it was a set up, but she was already crouched in the snow to check Henry was okay and she couldn't get up fast enough. Henry leapt out of hole he had made as he fell, arms cradling as much as he could manage, and threw it all at her. Regina lost her balance and toppled backwards, landing on her back as the cold hit her from all angles more intensely than before. Simultaneously, Emma had dropped armfuls of snow on Henry, causing him to fall down next to Regina in a fit of laughter. She had double-crossed him and Regina couldn't help but laugh, unsure of whether or not this meant Emma had chosen to team up with her or if it was every-man-for-himself, so to speak. This side of Emma was something the mayor was surprised to see, and she reflected internally as to whether they would have been great allies back in the enchanted forest, for she reminded her very much of herself and the thought surprised her; Emma was actually very likeable if one got to know her more, it wasn't surprising Henry had taken an instant shine to her.

The game continued until they were all soaked, shivering, and unable to feel their toes or fingers. They made their way back to where they assumed the pavement to be and an awkward silence fell over them. Regina had actually had fun and enjoyed Emma's company over the past few hours, but she refused on principle to admit it. She could not bring herself to thank Emma for a fun morning, or even to continue the civility by inviting her to join Henry and herself for lunch. Even though Regina did want Emma to join them, she restrained herself and resumed her authoritative demeanour.

"Come, Henry, let's go home and have some lunch." Regina gestured for Henry to walk ahead. He refused.

"Can Emma come?" He asked, putting on the eyes he used frequently on her to get what he wanted. She stubbornly shook her head.

"Of course not." She smirked and grasped Henry's gloved hand, pulling him with her as she walked away. Forgetting to torment Emma, Regina stopped and turned back. "Get to the station, Sheriff Swan. You have a job to do and I think you've wasted enough time today frolicking outside."

"See ya, kid. Let's get hot chocolate tomorrow before work." Emma called to Henry, waving until Henry had turned away and Regina glared. Emma smirked and shrugged, clearly suggesting that she had won this round, before turning towards the sheriff's station and walking away.

Feeling the numbness leave her fingers, Regina sipped her coffee as Henry mimicked her and sipped his hot chocolate by the fire with the smell of lunch wafting through from the kitchen and creating a feeling of comfort. The exchange with Miss Swan after the snowball fight had almost been forgotten until Regina decided to check her phone, worried she had missed something important by skipping work. Among messages from Sidney Glass and missed calls from citizens concerned about the snow and the power cuts caused by it in some areas, there was a single two word text from Emma that outraged her:

'Your move.'


End file.
